Thursday, June 17, 2010

We've always told people who complain about the weather in Manitoba that if you live here for any length of time you learn very quickly to just wait for a few hours as it will change. We have lived through many summer days that started off dismally and ended with lovely evenings spent on the deck enjoying the sunny sky and lovely sunset.

However, this year has been a little different. Or perhaps we have just been spoiled by the months spent in Mazatlan! Friends have told us that we are spoiled and to get a grip, after all, it is just June. We're not listening.

From what we have been told, April was lovely here. We were very optimistic when we arrived home on the 23rd to a perfect early summer day; unfortunately the early signs of spring and summer were just a teaser. Quite frankly, the weather has been dreadful since then. May was a complete wash out, almost literally, as we had about twice as much rain as usual and had a downpour in one weekend of 77mm which on it's own surpassed the average of 53mm for the month. We have even seen a funnel cloud, something which rarely happens in Winnipeg. There was no damage as it didn't touch ground, but it was interesting nonetheless.

The sun did shine in May, but not nearly often enough and we did make it through the month with a dry basement, more than can be said for many residents of the City.

June was coming however and we were still optimistic.

What a surprise - it's June and it's still raining. Not every day, but it just won't stop. We were quite excited this week as we had 3 days in a row when the sun shone and it was hot enough to think about perhaps someday in the future actually turning on the air conditioning. This was more like it - summer had arrived! It was time to break out the sun block and the bathing suits....until we woke up this morning - to more rain. I am now listening to thunder and looking at the every darkening skies. Wait a minute - is that a ray of sunshine??? Nope, just a lighter shade of grey. Sigh.

The herbs are thriving

and our neighbour Tyler is loving his soccer games (when the rain stops long enough to play)

Mike is not happy - this is seriously interfering with his goal of playing 100 games this season. He's pretty much accepted the fact that the 100 game goal is not happening this year, but he would very much like the chance to break in his new Ping Irons and Driver.

Abi is freezing. I took her to the groomer for what I hoped would be her usual very cute 'perky' cut and they gave a Mexican Shave!!!! I am not happy, Abi is miserable. So, what could we do, we were forced to send Mike out shopping to buy her clothing. Abi was hoping for a nice little sweater, or maybe a little tartan jacket, but apparently it's summer here (haa haa haa) and all they had was T-shirts. So, he did the best he could and we laughed ourselves silly after we got her all gussied up.

Abi, by the way, loves her new shirt (just like the ones her Mexican friends wear)and yes, she is "Bad to the Bone"!!!!!

I have to confess, if it is going to be horrid, there is nothing like a good storm, within reason. I will quite happily pass on hurricanes, typhoons and tsunamis. However, I do love blizzards, if I can stay inside til the snow melts, and a good thunder and lightening storms is as good as fireworks as long as I haven't planned on an outside meal. Which I did today.

It is not the end of the world - the chicken can be cooked in the oven and I'll just set the table in the dining room - I just wish it would STOP RAINING!!!!!!!!

But before I do anything, right now I have to go shut all the windows because it's pouring and the floors are getting wet.

My mood, by the way? Best not to ask. Suffice it to say, this has not been a good hair day.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

In November, shortly after we arrived in Mazatlan, we had a visitor for lunch, a tiny little parrot who perched on one of the power lines near our terrace. We had no idea what, or who, he was but discovered later that it was Pancho, one of the little fellows who were rescued and fostered by the wonderful people living in Mazatlan until they were ready to be released. Pancho, and his cohort, Lefty, were adopted by our friends Nancy and Paul and lived happily on their terrace until he decided to go exploring. I was thrilled to read recently on Nancy's blog, Countdown to Mexico, that Pancho has come home - a little worn out after his adventure but strong enough to find his way back to sanctuary with Nancy, Paul and Lefty.

We have had dreadful weather since we arrived home the end of April - lots of grey skies and way too much rain. We've planted all the flowers in the pots on our patio but rarely have to water them. We're actually worried that they might drown. A few weeks ago we had 77mm of rain in two days - the average for the month is 53mm. Today the forecast is for a high of 10 (we're not there yet) and, what a surprise, it's raining. Again. I just glanced out the window and one of the young men who works in our development is out using the weed eater to finish up the lawn mowing that was done yesterday (when it wasn't raining). He is wearing 2 hoodies, jeans, boots, and I can see his gloves in his back pocket. This is June!!!!!

However, 2 days ago it was 25 and sunny and so I decided to spend the day outside working on a project that we've been putting off. We have a very large mirror in our bedroom built into a nook in the wall that desperately needs a frame, so on the weekend we took a trip to Home Depot to pick up supplies. It was lovely on Monday and so I set up shop outside on the patio and had a lovely morning, just Abi and I, a can of white paint and a paint brush, getting the frame ready to be cut and mounted. Well, I thought it was just Abi and I, until we had an unexpected visitor!

He was adorable and stayed with us for hours. He hopped along the top of the fence, sat on the back of the chairs, even walked along the board I had just painted. Good thing it was hot and the paint dried almost instantly or we would have had little birdie footprints everywhere. I have no idea who he belongs to. He must live close by as he wasn't terribly good at flying and just did short dashes from fence to fence, coming back repeatedly to our yard.

He left us mid-afternoon and although I put snacks out for him he hasn't returned. I have canvassed the neighbourhood to see if anyone has any idea where he came from, but no luck. We haven't seen him since, but we also haven't run into anyone looking for him, so I have my fingers crossed that he has found his way home.